This penne alla vodka recipe stars a creamy, flavorful home made vodka sauce. Prepared in underneath half-hour, it is a comforting weeknight meal!
This penne alla vodka recipe is equal elements fast and comforting. It includes a home made vodka sauce that’s creamy, wealthy, and filled with tangy tomato taste…however straightforward to make in half-hour with a handful of pantry components.
We like to make this penne alla vodka on fall and winter weeknights. It’s so easy, cozy, and flavorful. The subsequent time you’re craving consolation meals, give it a strive. I feel you’ll love this penne alla vodka too!
What’s vodka sauce?
Should you’ve by no means made vodka sauce earlier than, you may be pondering, “It seems like plain outdated purple sauce. Does it actually comprise vodka?” Sure!
Vodka sauce is a tomato cream sauce that’s enhanced with vodka. The vodka provides acidity, peppery notes, and deepens the savory taste of the tomatoes. I discovered in this text from The New York Instances that it additionally helps emulsify the sauce, giving it its traditional silky texture.
Its precise origins aren’t clear, however it was possible invented within the Seventies in Italy. In fact, immediately, penne alla vodka is a staple on Italian-American restaurant menus. Let’s make it!
How you can Make Penne alla Vodka
This penne alla vodka recipe begins with easy components:
Components
- Vodka, in fact! You’ll solely use 1/4 cup right here, so select one that you simply’d prefer to have readily available—both for extra vodka sauce or for cocktails like an espresso martini or Bloody Mary. Our go-tos are Tito’s and Ketel One.
- Yellow onion and garlic – They offer the sauce savory depth of taste.
- Additional-virgin olive oil – For sautéing the onion and garlic.
- Entire peeled tomatoes and tomato paste – They create the sauce’s flavorful tomato base. The entire peeled tomatoes add juicy sweetness, whereas the tomato paste thickens the sauce and provides intense umami taste.
- Heavy cream – It makes the sauce wealthy and creamy. For a dairy-free substitute, use cashew cream or your favourite store-bought plant-based different.
- Crushed purple pepper flakes – They add a refined kick of warmth. Be happy to skip them in the event you’re delicate to spice.
- Penne pasta – The traditional selection for pairing with vodka sauce. Rigatoni or one other tube-shaped pasta would work nicely right here too.
- Contemporary basil and/or parsley – For garnish. I really like the herbs’ freshness with the wealthy sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – For serving. It provides the pasta a scrumptious nutty end.
- And salt and pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the entire recipe with measurements beneath.
How you can Make Vodka Sauce
This vodka sauce recipe has 4 easy steps:
- Sauté
- Simmer
- Mix
- Add the cream
You’ll begin by sautéing the aromatics, the onion and garlic. As soon as they soften, add the purple pepper flakes and tomato paste and prepare dinner, stirring, till the tomato paste darkens. Then, add the vodka and let it prepare dinner down for 1 minute.
Subsequent, simmer the sauce. Add the canned tomatoes and stir to mix. Simmer the sauce over low warmth for 10 minutes to develop its taste.
Then, mix the tomato sauce. Enable it to chill barely earlier than transferring it to a blender and mixing till easy.
- Tip: This can be a good time to start out cooking the pasta! Reserve a number of the starchy pasta water earlier than you drain it.
Lastly, add the cream. Return the blended sauce to the skillet and pour within the cream, stirring over medium-low warmth to warmth it via.
Including the Pasta
End making this pasta by including the cooked penne to the sauce. Combine it into the sauce together with 1/2 cup of reserved pasta cooking water, including extra as wanted to coat the pasta in a shiny sauce.
Season to style and serve!
What to Serve with Penne alla Vodka
You possibly can get pleasure from this pasta as a meal by itself, but it surely additionally pairs nicely with a salad or veggie aspect dish. A easy inexperienced salad, Caesar salad, steamed broccoli, and roasted inexperienced beans would all be scrumptious sides for this recipe.
Spherical out the meal with garlic bread or crusty bread for sopping up any sauce left on the backside of your bowl.
How you can Retailer and Reheat
Leftover penne alla vodka retains nicely in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
The sauce will thicken within the fridge. To get it creamy once more whenever you reheat, heat it over low warmth on the stovetop, including slightly water or cream as wanted to loosen it. Be certain that to maintain the warmth on low—if it’s too excessive, the sauce can separate.
Extra Pasta Recipes to Attempt
Should you love this recipe, strive considered one of these Italian pasta dishes subsequent:
Penne Alla Vodka
Serves 6 to eight
You need not go to a restaurant to get nice penne alla vodka—this recipe is straightforward to make at house! It stars a scrumptious home made vodka sauce that is creamy, silky, and full of wealthy tomato taste. The entire thing comes collectively in underneath half-hour, so it is good for weeknights.
Stop your display screen from going darkish
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Warmth the olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and several other grinds of pepper and prepare dinner, stirring sometimes, for five to eight minutes, or till softened.
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Add the purple pepper flakes and tomato paste and prepare dinner, stirring, for 3 minutes, or till the tomato paste darkens. Stir within the vodka and let it prepare dinner down for 1 minute.
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Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices and stir to mix. Simmer over low warmth for 10 minutes.
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Enable the sauce to chill barely, then switch to a blender and mix till easy.
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In the meantime, prepare dinner the pasta. Carry a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the pasta based on the package deal directions, cooking till al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain the pasta.
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Return the blended sauce to the skillet over medium-low warmth. Stir within the cream, adopted by ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Add the pasta and stir to coat, including extra pasta water as wanted to completely coat the pasta in a flippantly creamy, shiny sauce.
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Season to style and serve topped with recent herbs and Parmesan cheese.
*The vodka nonetheless retains a slight quantity of alcohol even after cooking. Should you’re making this sauce for teenagers or people who find themselves avoiding alcohol, chances are you’ll need to omit it and exchange it with water, broth, or a tablespoon of vinegar.
